News for and about the Health 2.0 Community

Health Care Issues + Developers + Designers + 8 hours = Awesome.

The Health 2.0 team has just wrapped-up the first round of live code-a-thons in 2011, and we’re excited to say that we’ve witnessed the creation of some incredibly innovative applications for health care! Our team and judges were impressed with what we saw from every single team in both Washington, DC and Boston. As you can imagine, this made for some tough decisions when selecting the top teams to send on to the next round.

All of the east coast winners (along with winners from San Francisco) were encouraged to keep working on their applications and have been invited to present at the Health 2.0 Spring Fling on March 21st. After the live judging, three teams will be selected to present again on the second day of the conference during our session that will focus on the entire Health 2.0 Developer Challenge.

Here are the top winners from each city:

Washington, D.C.

Team Maya used USDA data to create a mobile application allowing users to place orders for fresh produce from farmers in their area, and pick it up at a central location. Realizing that not everyone has a smart-phone, this service is text message based allowing users to easily contact suppliers. The back-end allows farms to see that a text order has been placed and tells them which local drop-off center will host the delivery.

“>BlueMeter mashed-up the Blue Button platform with Health Indicators data to create an application that uses social influence to spur users into action by comparing their health information to that of their peers.

Using a mash-up of three data sets (mammogram center locations provided by the Department of Commerce, clinicaltrials.gov, and Health Central’s own search data), the Health Central team created a visualization of live searches surrounding breast cancer. Alongside a real-time Google Map of where searches are occurring geographically, users can see the specific search term used and nearby mammogram and clinical trial centers.

Boston

Team Triangle hacked a Microsoft Kinect to create an in-home program that monitors involuntary movements. Their program would allow for frequent, standardized clinical assessments eliminating many trips to the doctor, ultimately creating a cost-effective solution for better tracking.

A team from the MIT Media Lab created a tool that evaluates the status and progression of cataracts by connecting a simple testing device to an Android phone. After the user takes the test, the data is visualized and interfaced with a personal health record system, allowing for easier tracking of the patient’s cataract.

A big thank you to all who came out and congrats again to all of the winning teams!